TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa City Council will hear a proposal Thursday from District 7 Councilman Luis Viera that asks for city elections to be shifted from odd years to even years.

The move would be to coincide with other statewide and national elections.

Viera said dismal voter turnout in the city for more than a decade indicates residents aren’t as engaged in local elections as they should be. In the primary election last week, Hillsborough County voter turnout was 19.53 percent, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office.

“I am a big believer in representative democracy,” Viera said. “I’m a big believer in participatory democracy. When you get anywhere from 7 to 8 percent of the eligible electorate voting and making decisions for everybody else, there is something wrong.”

Data from the Supervisor of Elections Office dating back a decade shows voter turnout in the city of Tampa ranging from 7 to 23 percent, including years where the mayoral race appears on the ballot.

Viera said shifting from odd to even years will lead more people to vote in local races, because they are already at the polls for statewide and national elections.

The proposal is already facing opposition. 

"Of course we’d all like to see higher turnout in our elections," said District 1 Councilman Alan Clendenin. "But equally important is ensuring that voters are informed when they cast a ballot. Moving city elections to even years would significantly increase the cost of running for city council or even mayor.

“Candidates would have to compete with all of the other candidates for volunteers, donations and the cost associated with running a campaign and be vanquished to the last page of a long ballot. The only people that would benefit are incumbents, rich well funded candidates and consultants.”  

There are more drawbacks to the plan, including local candidates being forced to compete for attention and fundraising during even-year election cycles. But Viera said those drawbacks only make it more difficult for politicians and at a cost to taxpayers of more than $500,000 every two years.

Viera doesn’t expect full city council to support the proposal, but he said he hopes it opens the door to a conversation about what can be done to increase voter turnout in Tampa city elections.

Councilman Bill Carlson (District 4) was more blunt in his response to the plan. 

"I'm very opposed to it," he said.